Portaal aan de zuidzijde van de kathedraal van Chartres 1854

Editor: We’re looking at Charles Nègre’s "Portaal aan de zuidzijde van de kathedraal van Chartres," taken in 1854. It's an albumen print, depicting the south portal of Chartres Cathedral. I'm struck by the scale of the architecture compared to the tiny figures at the base of the stairs, almost like ghosts. What’s your take on this piece? Curator: For me, the most interesting aspect lies in examining the material process. The albumen print itself is key. Consider the labour involved in producing such a print in 1854 - the preparation of the glass plate negative, the coating with albumen, the exposure... These aren't instantaneous snapshots, but meticulously crafted objects. It captures not just the cathedral, but also a moment in the technological advancement of photography, moving beyond mere representation and challenging earlier reproductive printmaking processes through its mechanical nature. How does the act of photographic reproduction, the labour inherent in it, reshape our perception of this cathedral? Editor: So, it's less about the cathedral itself and more about the photographic *process* that’s the focus? Does the realism in the style come from the cathedral's appearance or is it more connected to the way the albumen-print shows the detail? Curator: Precisely! While the cathedral provides the *subject,* it is the material reality of the photographic process that provides the content. Photography, through albumen printing, created a new form of representation that carried implications for traditional artisanship and even mass culture. How was access to art and architecture changed through technologies such as the albumen print? Editor: It's fascinating to think about this image not just as a picture, but as a record of labour and technological change in 19th-century France. It shifts my focus from the grandeur of the building to the hands that helped make it and then captured it. Curator: Exactly. It compels us to contemplate the cathedral of the 19th century through an utterly distinct material lens.